Opposition by churches to harsh treatment of the poor is welcome, as further benefit cuts hit hard-up households. It is important to work with, and learn from, those with a long track record of resisting economic injustice.

UK statistics authority chair Andrew Dilnot has criticised work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith’s misleading claims on the impact of capping benefits. This is not the first time that he, and the department he heads, have been found to have misused statistics.